Jackal's Call
by disillusionist9
Summary: Captured during the battle of the Department of Mysteries, Sirius Black poses a huge threat to the future of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore's machinations will need to change if Bellatrix manages to turn him over to Lord Voldemort. Understanding what is at stake, Remus and Kingsley are sent to find him before it's too late. TUMBLR PROMPT, AU after the DoM fight in OotP
1. Chapter 1 - Kingsley

Kingsley Shacklebolt twisted the ring around his middle finger as he listened to Dumbledore speak throughout the meeting. The smell of hexes still clung to the robes of those in the room who'd been at the Department of Mysteries, tension still singing through their muscles. Everyone's wand was still out and ready.

He wanted to pace; twisting the ring would do for now.

This safehouse was used during the first war, designed for the first Order of the Phoenix, and wasn't as heavily warded as Grimmauld. The location unsettled several of the current members who were part of that first Order but no one wanted to go back to Number 12 just yet in case the Death Eaters managed to secure any information from Sirius. Kingsley hated Dumbledore's decision to keep the man locked up for so long but saw some of the logic in it. But now…now there was a core Order member imprisoned, or likely worse, all because of misleading information and a spectacle of a battle at the Ministry.

Focusing on the fact that Fudge would soon be ousted as a terrible Minister did nothing to soothe Kingsley's concern. Fudge had been useful: enough of an idiot to keep the attention of the press while they worked, even if he did try to defy them at every turn, and blustering here and there to keep attention directed at himself at all times. Very convenient. Whenever he checked his morning Prophet, Kingsley would laugh into his coffee as the image of the bowler hat and the angle of the photographer's shot concealed the Minister's double chin, but did nothing to hide how much he looked and acted like an indignant crup, barking at the heels of its masters for not getting enough treats.

Dumbledore paused his monologue to ask Kingsley's advice. He knew the room wasn't ready to hear it, but he spoke anyway.

"We must work as though Sirius has been compromised or killed," he said, refusing to look around the table at the myriad of family and concerned friends of the man who'd escaped Azkaban. Instead, he focused on the only other man in the room besides him who he knew would understand what he meant. Remus Lupin.

"Bellatrix is unstable, but somewhat predictable. Her main focus has always been blood traitors, in her own words, from her family line before working to eradicate any other opponents. It's a blessing to us she grabbed Sirius instead of taking Harry. There is a chance she's removed him to a place where she will take isolated action before bringing him as a prize to You-Know-Who."

Harry was safely moved back to Hogwarts for a full debriefing and detainment by Minerva McGonagall. Sirius was right about one thing, at least. It was time the boy knew everything. Kingsley hoped Snape would get a chance to speak to the boy tonight as well.

Everyone flinched throughout his speech, but the solid steel in the arms of the man across from him shifted and moved below the surface. The wolf was ready.

"Either way, we're retrieving him," Remus said, speaking for the first time since Sirius was dragged away by Bellatrix.

Kingsley nodded in agreement, elated he was picking up on what he needed of him. "I volunteer. I suspect I'll need one more with me and we can secure him."

"But no more than two," said Dumbledore.

Kingsley pretended their fearless leader looked regretful for the events of the night and what lead to it. There were lines in his face that hadn't been there during the last Order meeting, long crow's feet webbing over the other small lines creasing his face. Dumbledore's age was becoming less and less ambiguous each time he saw him. Kingsley wondered if it were an act or if the old man regretted anything that happened during the war, but in the end it didn't matter. The emotional ruse was effective enough to control the room.

"Me," Remus said, standing with his coat half on already.

Kingsley stood as well. "We'll confer and report back as planned. Don't send a Patronus in case we're not alone, use one of those galleons we confiscated from Potter's defense group."

"We have ours here," said Fred Weasley.

George tossed something towards Tonks that glittered in the light before disappearing into a jacket pocket. "The others are hidden at Grimmauld Place, this saves time."

Fred threw his into Kingsley's waiting hand. The gold in his pocket shone like a real coin, burnished and protected. Without a word of farewell, the men left the safe house, Apparating away one after the other from the front stoop of the cottage in Godric's Hollow.

* * *

 _April 12th, 2017 - An anon on tumblr challenged me to make some angst with Remus and Kingsley so here's another WIP to press against my conscience. This story is still very much on the drawing board, so any questions or commetnts you have will help shape it, make it, help to move it along. Thank you for reading._


	2. Chapter 2 - Remus

Remus wasn't sure what the pile of electrical contraptions in the middle of Kingsley's living room was for, and he didn't ask. It looked like a viper's nest with all the cords, and some of the screens were blinking neon green words now and again. When he'd raised an eyebrow at Kingsley for his obviously Muggle-based cache, the older man shrugged and invited him back to another room of his home.

"Wands blazing won't work, after this fight it's what Bellatrix will expect." Kingsley removed the heavy outer coat over his shoulders to rest it on the back of a chair. The chair was pushed up to a large oak desk covered in neat piles of documents, a gold pocket watch, and several tiny potted plants.

Remus never knew Kingsley at Hogwarts; he'd graduated even before Remus's first transformation when he was four years old. But watching the man move around the room reminded him of the way some of the professors would command attention. His movements, the power in his voice...it left no room in the imagination why he'd risen so quickly through the Auror ranks and was a trusted member of the Order. Listening to his voice was calming, it helped to focus the unmitigated rage and adrenaline coursing through Remus, giving it a direction and purpose.

Without the heavy protective robes covering his arms, Kingsley rolled up his shirtsleeves as he spoke. It struck Remus that a pureblood wizard like Kingsley would wear a button up shirt and suit trousers under his robes.

"I've been wandering the Muggle ministry," the man said, interrupting Remus's train of thought. Before Remus could reply, he caught the knowing look on Kingsley's face, and knew he'd been caught peering. "Dumbledore feels it's time to reinstate a wizard in the Prime Minister's office and I needed to create credibility."

"You have...mountains of credibility," Remus argued. "Why would you need to create any?"

Kingsley smiled and chuckled as he turned back to face his desk. The sound was deep, and the Auror's entire chest reacted as he laughed. "Thank you, Remus, but the Muggles don't know my record and don't take Hogwarts diplomas. And I intend for them to never find out, honestly. That work isn't as important."

Something in the way he gently explained it, even turning it into a self-deprecating comment, took the sting out of Remus realizing he'd missed the point entirely. Living as a Muggle as long as he had, he was a bit embarrassed he hadn't caught on sooner.

Papers rustled for a few seconds as Kingsley grabbed a map, then gestured for Remus to follow him into the built-in closet on the other end of the room.

"Deep breath," he said, before pulling Remus through a dark hallway hidden behind a back panel.

* * *

 _April 19th, 2017 - Thank you for reading and reviewing! Chapter one is likely going to be one of the longest in this story, and I plan to switch between POVs as evenly as possible, only Remus and Kingsley._


	3. Chapter 3 - Kingsley

Their pockets were heavy with potions and traps from Kingsley's hidden storeroom. His flat in London was in a building with a unused basement he'd converted years ago, after the first war, into a place to meditate, train, and brew. The building owners didn't miss the space; Kingsley had used a Ministry-approved Undetectable Extension Charm to fool the blueprints on file with the city.

Remus's fingers had twitched over the bookshelves in the true office but the drive to go after Bellatrix kept his muscles tense and eyes darting over every surface without truly seeing. The way he moved, purpose in every step, fueled the adrenaline building in Kingsley's body to new heights. Traveling in silence across a moor towards an estate lit dimly by the waxing crescent moon above. There was barely enough light to make out individual trees around them, so Kingsley followed Remus's lead, his superior senses put to good use.

The first building they reached was a renovated carriage house, changed to a cottage based on the overgrown landscaping around the edge. A decaying door yielded easily to the two wizards removing faded charms and shoving it open with their shoulders.

Damp earth and decaying leaves covered the scent of the blood Kingsley could see on the floor of the cottage.

"Not Sirius's," Remus said.

"Can you tell whose?"

Remus shook his head and kept low, below the line of the dirty windows. The floorboards creaked and they could see through the cracks to another room below. A slight breeze flowed up from the gaps, the charms protecting the house from the elements likely dissolved by time and lack of maintenance. The men followed the movement of air through the sparsely furnished house to a cramped stairwell almost steep enough to be considered a ladder.

Following close behind, Kingsley found it difficult to see in the near darkness but didn't dare cast a spell to illuminate the area. Instead he boldly put his hand on Remus's arm to keep near to the man who could make his way much easier in the gloom.

Remus slowed and turned to look at Kingsley. The arm with Kingsley's hand lifted to point. "There's a spelled door here. It smells like an underwater lake nearby coming from that direction."

"It's on the side of this building facing the main house." Kingsley followed the line of Remus's arm and started casting detection spells on the wall. "This is likely our best way in, a tunnel not on the Ministry's records for Lestrange Manor."

Neither spoke another word as they cautiously worked the wards apart. They knew time was not on their side, but a wrong move on a trap on this property would be debilitating or deadly.

Remus trembled next to Kingsley, the dark underground corridor making every other sense that much stronger. The werewolf led their march further and further under the surface. The change in grade was enough to make the men stumble in several places, loose tiles under their feet giving way. Priding himself on his sure-footedness, Kingsley was wary of what they would find whenever the tunnel ended, sensing more in the works than darkness going against his balance.

* * *

 _August 3rd, 2017 - A bit of inspiration finally hit for this one. Thank you to those who follow and interact with this story! I am always interested to hear feedback._


	4. Chapter 4 - Remus

Remus could taste the blood in the air getting stronger. Some of it was ancient, faint remainders from when the stone house somewhere above them was built, sacrifices meant to strengthen the wards hanging on like old cobwebs now. Other scents hit with sharpness, or sweetness, but he didn't have the luxury of time to sift through each one to identify it. There was only one thing he was following.

"Sirius is within...thirty yards. Maybe less. Depends on how much brick or dirt separates this tunnel from where he is being held."

Acutely aware of how close the Auror was following him, Remus wasn't startled when Kingsley spoke just behind his right ear. "Which way now? The wards are too broken to tell where an entrance could be."

"We might need to make one."

"Are you willing to gamble his life on that?"

Remus grit his teeth and turned towards the shadowy outline of the man behind him. Almost as far as he could be from the full moon, he still felt instantly feral at the insinuation. Before he could speak, Kingsley put his hands on his shoulders and pushed, a pressure point maneuver that worked to calm werewolves Remus didn't realize he knew.

"I'm not questioning your loyalty or concern for his safety, Remus," the man said gently. His hands started releasing the pressure bit by bit the more he spoke. "But we have to be sure that we aren't doing this for nothing. I wouldn't have followed you here if I felt you would do something reckless. Do you trust me?"

 _With my life_.

"Good."

Remus took a deep breath. He'd said that out loud?

Moving several feet further down the narrow passageway, the two men halted as they hit a wall of stone, roots, and hard-packed earth. Their wands sought for the strongest points in the wards that might give away a hidden staircase or entryway. Under the smell of dirt and blood, Remus could easily make out the musk of Kingsley working nearby. Though he couldn't smell a trace of true fear on the Auror, the scent only served to make Remus's heart beat a little faster, mirroring the anticipation and alertness radiating from his partner.

A cluster of magical tendrils lit up the gloom like a mess of tinsel shining in Yule firelight. Kingsley's eyes shone with the success of the hunt but his mouth stayed a firm line of determination.

"The wall is giving way here," he said, beckoning Remus over with a tilt of his head. The earring he wore in one ear caught the light of the wards as he moved. "It's a rune ward that is requiring a blood offering."

Remus frowned, hearing the _but_ in the man's voice clearly. "But I can't give it because I'm a werewolf, correct?"

Kingsley put a hand on Remus's shoulder for a brief moment before using his wand to cut a line into the back of his arm. Remus could just make out the silvery knots of other cuts very similar to the one he made now. He didn't flinch when he wiped his arm across the dirt, but the smell of his flesh cauterizing on impact was obvious even to a human nose. Looking over to Remus as the corridor behind the ward appeared, he said, "Just promise you'll take the next blood gate we come across, yeah?"

* * *

 _August 3rd, 2017 -Told you I had some inspiration. Thanks for reading!_


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